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    "localId": "284839655",
    "label": "White House Press Release, Statement by John R. Steelman",
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    "id": "284839655",
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    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "White House Press Release, Statement by John R. Steelman",
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        "White House Press Release Files (Truman Administration)",
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    "productionDates": [
        {
            "day": 21,
            "logicalDate": "1947-02-21",
            "month": 2,
            "year": 1947
        }
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    "seq": 5,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "photo",
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    "ocrText": "#1019\n-5-\nor no fertilizer before the war started applying it in large quantities.\nAs a result new marketing areas were opened and new patterns of distri-\nbution were formed. This has lead to regional shortages in some areas.\nAlong with other war-time controls, allocation controls over\nnitrogen fertilizer were lifted last year. In some areas this increased\nthe difficulty of obtaining equitable distribution. However, these\ninequities can be expected to disappear as distribution from new\nfertilizer production facilities becomes adjusted to area demands.\nAdditional facilities now in private hands but not yet\nproducing will come into operation later this year. This will help\nalleviate some of the spread between demand and supply for the next\ncrop year and enable this country to provide larger quantities of\nfertilizer to devastated countries for the rehabilitation of their\nfarms.\nPHOSPHATE\nThe production of soluble phosphatic fertilizers for domestic\nuse this year is expected to be 1,525,000 tons P205. This will be the\nlargest supply available for consumption in any one year and about 8\npercent more than was available last year. There have been critical\nNARA\nshortages of box cars for transportation of phosphate rock from the\nmines to acidulating plants, also serious shortages of sulphuric acid\nat times in many areas and throughout the year in the southeastern\narea.\nThe Army has been authorized to lease to private industry\nthe sulphuric acid facilities at the Alabama Ordnance Works to\nincrease the supply of sulphuric acid in the southeastern area. The\nshortage of tank cars for the movement of the acid has prevented the\ncompletion of the lease to date, but it is expected that arrangements\nfor the cars will be concluded in the immediate future.\nPOTASH\nIt is presently estimated that about 780,000 tons of\ndomestically produced potash will be available for agricultural use\nin 1946-1947. This is nearly 40,000 tons above the al-time high\nreached last year. Government allocation of potash by the Civilian\nProduction Administration was reinstated on June 1, 1946 at the request\nof the potash producers and with concurrence of Government a encies\nconcerned with potash distribution. A pattern of distribution was\nfollowed to meet the essential requirements for each region. The\nallocations were for a 10-month period from June 1946 to March 1947.\nFollowing the general policy of decontrol, the potash\nallocatio.: order was revoked on February 17, 1947. Hence the distribution\nof the supply. after April l will be in the hands of the private pro-\nducers. In addition to the domestic supply, the United States is\nexpected to import about 50,000 metric tons of K2O this year. Fifteen\nthousand tons of this quantity has been scheduled for import from France\nduring March, April and May. Additional quantities are exoected from\nFrance and Germany before July 1947.\nIn summary, it is evident that while shorta es of fertilizer\ncannot be avoided in some areas this spring there is every indication\nthat expanding production will result in a greatly improved situation\nin the next crop year. Meanwhile, all agencies of the government con-\ncenned with the fertilizer problem will continue working in close\ncoordination to assist industry to meet demands for fertilizer both at\nhome and abroad."
}